Friends with Benefits
by Enula
Summary: Pan and Trunks move into a loft together. This is a nice, light romance. I thought it would be nice to take a break from all the angsty problems. Great friendship before love is the best way to go.


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NOTE: This story is a somewhat-sequel to my other story "Visible Stranger." If you never heard of it, it's actually a Bra/Yamcha romance. So when you read some suggestions in here about that, that's where it's from. But don't worry, you don't have to read that to understand this story. It's a Pan/Trunks story that really has nothing to do with Bra and Yamcha at all. However, the reason I decided to make this story based off "Visible Stranger" is because almost everyone said they loved how I portrayed the relationship between Pan and Trunks. That's basically all there is to it. So with that said, please RR!

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Friends with Benefits

Prologue

"Wow…this _is_ a nice place."

"Did you think it would be ugly?"

"No! I just didn't think it would be this big!"

Trunks laughed at Pan's indignation and set down his briefcase by the kitchen table. Pan continued to hold her backpack over one shoulder as she moved into the next room. He smiled after her and took a couple steps back when the movers came in with some of their bags.

"Hey Pan, I'll be right back! I want to make sure everything's all right," Trunks told her, waiting for her to reply before he left.

"Okay!" Pan called back, focusing more on her new surroundings than Trunks. The smile on her lips kept growing with each room she entered, finding it hard to believe that the loft was going to be her home for awhile.

She went into a bedroom that she wanted to claim as her own, loving the spacious, comfy atmosphere. "Ah!" she exclaimed when she fell backward onto the large bed, letting her bag drop limply to the floor. There was no doubt in her mind at that moment that she made the best decision of her life when she agreed to move in here.

Closing her eyes, Pan thought back to how it all started.

She was always one to claim she had two best friends, who also happened to be siblings: Bura and Trunks. Pan didn't know why, but she always assumed Trunks to be her _better_ best friend. She didn't want to put down Bura in anyway, but she had to admit that there wasn't too much they had in common.

Always finding it quite amusing that Bura had a major crush on Goten, Pan liked to bring up that subject a lot. After all, she was used to hanging out with Trunks and Goten, so Bura fit right in with the group.

Or, at least, that's what Pan thought.

Then Bura somehow found romantic interest in her mother's first boyfriend, Yamucha. How and why, Pan will never know and stopped trying to figure it out. A little before the time Bura and Yamucha got together, Pan noticed how Bura was becoming a little withdrawn from everyone else, including her. For awhile, she simply thought Bura was down because she was finally realizing that Goten didn't want her.

After Bura and Yamucha exposed themselves to be romantically involved, groups began splitting up. Buruma and Vejiita didn't want to accept this "thing" yet, so Bura decided to go off and move in with Yamucha. That surprised Pan more than anything did; that Bura would want to go off with some old guy and leave everyone else behind.

Pan never realized how much of her time was spent with Bura until she left. Trunks was the head of Capsule Corp. after all and no matter how many times he flew out his window, there were times when he still had to work.

Goten was still going—somewhat—strong with Paresu and saw her often. Pan never really cared much for her, so she stayed away from that.

Someone once mentioned that she should try hanging out with Marron. Pan didn't even want to try. If she thought she had nothing in common with Bura, she hated to see how incompatible she would be with Marron.

Bura told her that she could visit whenever she wanted, but they began to lose touch before half a year was up.

And then the opportunity came up that Trunks had been waiting for. Capsule Corp. was getting bigger and bigger with each passing year, so the executives decided it was time to open it up in another location. Trunks was to lead this one and was to oversee the construction of the building.

The area was far enough away where it would simply be easier for him to find a home there instead of traveling back and forth almost everyday. There was a large loft right inside the city that would hold him comfortably, the cost being no problem at all.

Pan was never one to hide how she felt and let Trunks know how disturbed she was that he would soon be leaving. Little did she know that when he told her, he had every intention to invite her to live with him.

He didn't hide the fact that he asked Goten first, but when Goten said he would only do it if Paresu could also come along, Trunks broke the deal.

"So much for creating a bachelor's pad with my lifetime best friend," Trunks commented to Pan once. He laughed at it then, but Pan could see that he really was disappointed. It was somewhat hard to let Bura go and they weren't even really that close when they were younger. She knew that Trunks and Goten used to be inseparable.

Knowing that Trunks chose Goten over her first, Pan became more determined to show Trunks that she could be just as fun, if not more so, than Goten.

Having said yes immediately, Pan didn't even ask her parents what they thought of the idea. Of course, she didn't think they should have a say in it. She was nineteen after all and could move out of the house anytime she wanted. Who she moved in with was her own business.

Surprisingly, Gohan and Videl weren't that upset by the idea.

"It makes us feel better that you're moving in with someone you know and trust instead of going off on your own," was their outlook on things.

Pan was almost frustrated when her parents didn't put up a fight. Things always seemed more enjoyable to her when she knew they weren't approved. She tried to not let it get to her, however. Ever since she, Trunks, and her grandpa left into space together, she had always wanted to live with Trunks again. It was the most enjoyable experience of her life and was glad she was able to go along with them.

"I take it you want this room," she heard from the doorway. She popped her eyes open and looked down to see Trunks leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Sure do," she proclaimed, looking around again, "Just imagine what I can do to spice it up."

"Hai…" he agreed, looking also before he smirked, "too bad you won't be able to, though." He disappeared from the doorway as he headed down the hall, leaving Pan in a state of confusion.

"Nani? Oi, Trunks!" she hopped off the bed and ran after him into the room he went into, "Why won't I be able to?"

"'Cause this…" he gestured with his arms to the much smaller space, "is going to be your room."

"Huh! But this…this is a closet!" she yelled, underestimating it to an extreme, "When I agreed to move in with you, I was expecting a large bedroom with—," she stopped herself short when she realized Trunks was holding back laughter, "What's so funny?"

He shrugged, "Oh, nothing. I just like the way you say you 'agreed to move in with me'. You make it sound like I begged you to."

"Hm," she crossed her arms and turned her back toward him, "Maybe you did."

Before she knew it, his arms were wrapped around her waist. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, walking back down the hall.

"Trunks, what are you doing?" she asked, going limp. This wasn't the first time he carried her like a rag doll, and she knew it was useless for her to struggle. He took them back into the room she claimed as hers and threw her down roughly on the bed. Just as she propped herself up on her elbows, he leaned over her to put their faces close together.

"You really want _this _room?" he questioned, pretending to sound threatening.

Pan held back a laugh as she mimicked his serious expression, "I really do."

"Oh," he stood up and began to back away, "if that's the way you want it. I just thought I should warn you though…" He stepped out into the hall.

"Warn me about what?" she challenged, quickly standing up. She smirked, "About the termites that are only in _this_ room? About the leaky ceiling? About the squeaky floorboards?" Her eyes moved from side to side before settling back on his amused ones, "About a little peephole only you know about?"

Trunks laughed at that suggestion, "If there was a peephole only I knew about, then why would I forbid you to sleep in here?"

"You're forbidding me now?" She shook her head to stay on topic, "So you won't look suspicious."

He stared at her for a long moment in amusement, then finally shook his head, "Iie, Pan-chan, it's none of those things. The real reason I said I don't think you should be in here is because this door locks from the outside. I can lock you in here anytime I want." Trunks said it so plainly, Pan didn't even think about it until Trunks closed the door, the lock making a loud click.

Pan blinked twice before resting her hands on her hips, "Ha! Do you think a simple door can stop _me_?"

"You break it, you're paying for the damages," Trunks stated from the other side.

Pan silently laughed but decided to not fight it. She went over and sat on her bed again, feeling somewhat fatigued from the trip anyway. Crawling up the large bed until her head reached the pillows, she flopped down and closed her eyes.

"Pan?" Trunks called when a few silent moments went by. Pan hid her face in the pillow so she wouldn't laugh, "Pan, it's no fun if you don't put up some resistance." He waited a few moments, "If you don't say something I'll start singing."

This time, Pan laughed loudly and sat up, "Mercy!"

A twinkle came to her eye when she heard the lock click again, but Trunks try to cover it up, "All right, I'm going to unpack now. And you can just stay in there and think about what you've done!"

She heard him walk away and shook her head. Pan knew her and Trunks had a special kind of relationship that was hard to find. It was the kind that many wanted, but hardly ever found. There was a fourteen-year age gap between them, but after she reached the age of sixteen, that gap seemed to shorten.

Pan couldn't help but always have a slight crush on Trunks, but always did well to hide it. But it wasn't hidden like most people would think. She showed her affections for him so openly, it was often hard to tell if she was playing around or not. Trunks hardly seemed to mind. Every once in awhile, she could swear that he was flirting back, but had to wonder if that was_ his_ way of playing around.

She recalled a couple times when Trunks called her his best friend also, and that always managed to brighten her day. There was just something about him that was so…nerdy. Pan laughed at her choice of words. Of course, he wasn't always like that. He just looked it when he was wearing his glasses. She never hesitated to tell him so, either.

But she also didn't mind telling him how good he looked when he dressed down to go out for a night. She was always able to laugh freely when he blushed at her comments.

Many times when they went out, they ended up crashing at his place, both of them falling asleep at different ends of the couch. Anyone else, she was sure, would not be able to sleep because they would be so nervous about sleeping by someone they liked. Pan couldn't help but feel more comfortable at those moments.

Overall, she was sure that she and Trunks could do almost anything around each other without feeling awkward. Living together was just another one of those things.

Pan snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the door quietly open. She looked down to see Trunks poke his head in the door, "Hey, uh…just wanted to let you know that I did unlock the door."

Laughing, she grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. He closed the door just in time.

"Missed me," he cried from out in the hall.

She smiled contentedly and fell back against the bed again. This certainly would be an adventure.


End file.
